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Lot Essay
Pilade Bertieri achieved early success in Italy, exhibiting at the Venice Biennale while still in his twenties. At the turn of the century he moved to New York City, where he became a fashionable portrait artist among elite American society. His style during this period was often compared to that of John Singer Sargent for its fluid brushwork and elegant treatment of sitters.
The present portrait was painted in 1907 following the height of Japonisme, the vogue for all things Japanese that swept across Europe in the second half of the 19th century.
Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan ended a long period of national isolation and became open to trade with the West. Many European artists found themselves captivated by Japanese ceramics and Ukiyo-e prints newly available in chic shops in Paris and London. Among the major artists of the period who drew inspiration from Japanese art and dress were Vincent van Gogh, James Tissot, Claude Monet, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and James McNeill Whistler. The kimono in the present work echoes this fascination.
In 1909 Bertieri relocated to London, reportedly working in the former studio of James Abbott McNeill Whistler in Chelsea. Some of his finest portraits date from this period, including Lady in black furs (1912) (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool) which echoes the composition of the present portrait.
The present portrait was painted in 1907 following the height of Japonisme, the vogue for all things Japanese that swept across Europe in the second half of the 19th century.
Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan ended a long period of national isolation and became open to trade with the West. Many European artists found themselves captivated by Japanese ceramics and Ukiyo-e prints newly available in chic shops in Paris and London. Among the major artists of the period who drew inspiration from Japanese art and dress were Vincent van Gogh, James Tissot, Claude Monet, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and James McNeill Whistler. The kimono in the present work echoes this fascination.
In 1909 Bertieri relocated to London, reportedly working in the former studio of James Abbott McNeill Whistler in Chelsea. Some of his finest portraits date from this period, including Lady in black furs (1912) (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool) which echoes the composition of the present portrait.